Iron Chef Scott's Thoughts on the World

The Fabulous Food of Fleur de Lys

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:44:00 +0000

Hubert Keller is one of our favorite chefs, and Fleur de Lys is one of our favorite restaurants. We decided to try the one in San Francisco the year before after seeing Chef Keller compete on Top Chef Masters. The food that we had there was amazing, so we just had to try the one in Las Vegas.

After visiting the website (www.fleurdelyssf.com), I learned about the wine room which overlooks the entire restaurant, and knew that was where I wanted to propose to Jennifer. Of course, in order to reserve the wine room, everybody in the group must have the 6-course tasting menu. Sure, fine, twist my arm.

The only order of business for the waiter was to find out who was having the wine pairing, and who was having something else to drink. It turned out that all of the men at the table took the wine pairing, and the women each had their own drinks.

As they were pouring the first wine, a sparkling Brut Rosé from Gruet in New Mexico, they began pouring into all of the cups, “just so that everybody had something to toast with”. That was OK by me. This was paired with the gift from the chef, a crab and avocado island in a watermelon soup. The soup had such an intense watermelon flavor that it went perfectly with the crab and avocado.

Our next course was the ahi tuna tartare, with a shaved fennel slaw and ginger ponzu, which is a Japanese citrus sauce. At the beginning of the meal, we had mentioned that my entire family, along with Jennifer, does not eat anything raw. So they were brought a little salad with two medallions of lobster. Unfortunately, we forgot to mention that Jennifer also does not like lobster much. I know, I know, and I am going to marry this girl! Anyways, halfway through the course, she decided to try the tartare. And she liked it. So, we traded halfway through and now she might not be quite as against raw tuna as she was.

The wine that was paired with the salad course was a 2008 Hirsch Heiligenstein Gruner Veltleiner. The yellow apple flavor nicely complemented the shaved fennel slaw, as well as the vinaigrette.

Our next course was the soup course. And to be quite honest, with was a course that I don’t think that I will ever forget. The servers came large bowls and placed them right in front of us. In each bowl was a smear of red onion puree and a bite of braised duck wrapped in a crepe, sitting on a slice of black truffle. This looked good, but it didn’t look like much of a course. Once all the plates had been placed, two more servers came forward, each carrying a silver pitcher of soup. Finally, the light went off for me.

As I mentioned, it was one of the best soups, or, for that matter, best anythings, that I have ever tasted. It was a truffle-onion soup that was so velvety smooth, and the flavors melded so perfectly, it was heaven. Even the Chardonnay that was paired with it was nice, the Talbott vineyards Logan Chardonnay from Monterrey Valley. To be honest, I remember everything pairing well, but I was so amazed with the soup that I don’t really remember the wine.

Now, on to the seafood course. This was a braised yellowtail tuna in a ginger aromatic sauce with pickled shiitake mushrooms and a grilled cipollini onion, paired with a 2008 Dr. Thanisch Kabinett Riesling from the Mosel region of Germany. At this point, I am going to stop saying how well the food and wine went together, as you are probably getting tired of hearing it. We’ll just go with the assumption that it does, unless otherwise specified, which it won’t be for the rest of the meal.

Anyways, the grilled cipollini was absolutely delicious with the tuna and mushrooms, and I don’t often like mushrooms that much. This time, I didn’t have a problem with either the texture (they weren’t slimy, which is good) or the flavor (something that tastes like earth is not often at the top of my list). But in this case, they were great.

At this point, our waiter Javier mentioned to us that Chef Keller would be in the restaurant tonight, however he would be having a quiet dinner with his wife. He also mentioned which table they would be dining at.

Now, back to the food. We had the Braised Veal and Yukon Gold Potato Ravioli. Now, this was not your typical ravioli. This ravioli was made from the potato itself. Imagine two slices of potato cooked, stuffed with veal, sunchokes, and English peas, finally sealed together in a ravioli form. Amazing. This dish was paired with a 2006 Pinot Noir by Michel Picard from Givry, France.

The final savory course was a Rack of Colorado Lamb with caramelized onions, pancetta, grilled romaine and a Harissa-Olive Sauce. The wine was a 2005 Granache / Syrah blend by Domaine de la Janasse, Terre d’Argile, Cotes Du Rhone Villages 2005. And now, I am out of good ways to talk about yummy food.

When we looked downstairs at the restaurant, to the place Javier mentioned that Chef Keller would be sitting, there he was. In person. We had seen him many times on tv (Top chef, Top Chef Masters, and Secrets of a Chef, on PBS), but this was the first time in person. He was just there, sitting down to dinner with his wife, who was the designer of the Las Vegas restaurant, and one other person.

Our first dessert course was a coconut tapioca soup with a passion fruit sorbet and a plantain cake, with strawberry and kiwi. This was my sister’s favorite dish, as she is totally into passion fruit.

Finally, there was a huge chocolate soufflé. They were huge. Of course, when it got tableside, the servers broke open the top and poured in a chocolate ganache. On the side was a scoop of Mocha Ice Cream. Dessert came with a 2005 Granache by M Chapoutier from the Banyuls region of France. I don’t think that anybody was able to finish the entire soufflé.

We had made it through the entire meal. It was amazing. But wait, there was more. As we were preparing to go, they brought two trays of about 20 madelines, along with a chocolate dipping sauce. They were definitely a hit with the table.

The tour of the kitchen was quite amazing, as well. Of course it was spotless and fairly spacious for a professional kitchen with anywhere from 10 – 14 cooks per day. The interesting thing was to find that all of the meat was cooked sous vide, and then finished with a quick sear to provide a bit of texture. It was the first time that I had seen an immersion circulator in use.

As we returned to our table, we each found an autographed copy of Hubert Keller’s book, “Burger Bar”. The women at the table also had a rose that is part of the wall decoration of the restaurant.

Dinner was over, the kitchen was toured, the bill was paid, and it was time to go. We stopped to say goodbye to our waiter, while Jennifer’s mom went ahead, and when we looked up, Chef Keller was talking to her. We went over, said hi, made some small-talk and told him about how amazing our dinner was. Not wanting to take up too much of his time, we thanked him and continued on our way.

This was definitely a dinner not to be forgotten.

The night I will never forget

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:45:00 +0000

It has finally happened. I finally asked Jennifer to marry me. And more amazingly, she said yes! It only took me 6 months to prepare for, coordinate, and try to keep it a secret.

I know that many people come to the decision to get married via rational conversations (“Hey – what are you doing for the rest of your life?” “I don’t know, how about you?” “I don’t know…wanna get married?”), oopses (“Ummm…honey, we’re going to be parents, and momma’s gonna kill me if I have a baby before I’m married…so…”), and, of course, jumbo-trons.

I knew from the beginning that the jumbo-tron was right out. And the other two options didn’t really appeal to me, so I chose the road less traveled, and went for a romantic weekend away from all of our daily stresses. We would go to Vegas. For those of you who know me, this isn’t the one in New Mexico. This would be the real thing. On top of that, I would do one of those things that they tell me is very atypical of guys…planning.

So, at Christmas of 2009, while my family was opening presents, I mentioned the beginnings of a plan to my parents and sister. I wanted to propose to Jennifer in Las Vegas, and I wanted them all to be there, along with both of her parents. As soon as I told them, it suddenly became very real to me. This was the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Which leads us to another of a guy’s worst fears, commitment.

Due to conditions beyond my control, I was not really able to set things up with her parents until the end of April. After a weekend of almost mentioning it to them (always to be interrupted by something or another), I finally got some time alone with her father. It is amazing how much terror one single person can inspire in any other single person. Especially when that other single person is me.

The conversation was something like this:

Me: “Um…uh…Do you think that you would be able to travel on the weekend of June the 11^th?”

HD (Her Dad): “Maybe, why?”

Me: “Well, I thought you might want to come with us to Las Vegas”

HD: “What’s in Las Vegas?”

Me: “I kind of want to ask Jennifer to marry me…and I think that she would really like it if you guys were there.”

HD (smiling…with a real smile, not just a ‘I’m laughing to be polite’, but a real smile): “I’m sure that we can find a way to be there. (pause) Las Vegas…In June? You know it’s going to be hot, right?”

Me: “Yep, but I’m sure we’ll be ok.”

Fast-forward a couple of months (ok, to Friday, June 11^th, 2010). The ring has been purchased (a one karat round cut classic solitaire on yellow gold, for those of you that need to know), reservations have been made, and I have put my time in at seat 14 C. We have now spent one night at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.

My family was given free reign of everything between the Luxor and the Bellagio, while we are off to Fashion Show Mall and the shops at the forum. We spend almost the entire day going from store to store, trying some things on, buying others, and in the end, return to our hotel. At this point, it is 5:00 and dinner is at 6:30. My job is to keep her in the hotel room until I get the text message from my mom saying that everybody has met up, and there is no chance that we will cross paths on the casino floor.

While she is in the shower, I use the opportunity to come up with a lame excuse (‘I’m hungry’... If you knew me, you would know that it isn’t that far-fetched of a sentiment) and head down to Fleur de Lys to let them know that when we arrive, they should seat us even though there are only two of us, rather than all seven.

After returning to the room, I wait, and wait, and wait…is this even on? and wait. Crap. 6:25 and nothing. I guess it is time to go, and I will just have to hope that we don’t run into anybody. Just to make sure, we take the roundabout path. Phew. Nobody there.

As they take us to our seats (I reserved the wine room overlooking the dining room), I walk up with my heart racing, and my hands in my pockets. On the one hand, I hoped that if I held my phone that would make it vibrate and tell me that everybody had arrived. In the other, the little drawstring pouch with a ring inside of it, drawn as tight as possible so I won’t lose it.

We climb the stairs, and my heart beats faster. As we arrive in the wine room (with a 12,000 bottle capacity), we are left to ourselves. Just me and Jennifer, the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. Well, it’s now or never.

Me (turning her so that she knows to look at me, rather than through the wine): “While we were shopping, I really realized that there is one thing that you are missing.”

Her: Speechless

Me (Now taken the pouch out of my pocket, and realizing that I cannot open it): “Crap…why does this always happen to me?”

At that point, I finally get the ring out of the pouch and take a hold of her hand, positioning the ring about an inch away from her finger.

Me (quietly): “Will you marry me?”

Her (I am hoping that she hadn’t heard me, because she isn’t saying anything).

Me (Still holding the ring, waiting for an answer).

Her (Eventually): “Aren’t you supposed to ask me something?”

Me (Phew…she just didn’t hear me): “Sorry, must have been too quiet. Will you marry me?”

Her (Sliding her finger through the ring): “Yes.”

Then, of course, we kiss, hug, and just hold each other.

While all of this was happening, I apparently received a text from my mother.

After waiting a few seconds, and we just kind of look around the restaurant.

“Well, you should probably call your mom.” Even though I knew that she wouldn’t answer. At that point, I figured that I should call my parents, just for show. Although, even though it was for show, I sort of expected that somebody would pick up. First, Mom. Nothing. Then Dad. Nothing. Finally, on calling my sister, somebody picked up. It is in my conversation with my sister that Jennifer realizes that both of our families are right outside, and on their way up to the restaurant.

An evening at Red Lobster

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:47:00 +0000

On Thursday night, I got a chance to officially meet the mastermind behind Red Lobster’s food, Chef Michael LaDuke. It turned out to be a quiet dinner for three bloggers (of which Jennifer is much more prolific than I am, but I got to go along as the plus one), two publicists, and one head chef.

I had never been to Red Lobster before meeting Jennifer 3 and a-half years ago. To be honest, I never really wanted to go to a place that my dad often referred to as the “Red Blobster”. On its own, that was generally enough to turn me off to it. But, when you pair that with remembering commercials that prominently feature fried shrimp, it was just never somewhere I really wanted to have a full meal. However, I thought I would give the dinner, and a trip through the menu, a try.

So, we battled through a Thursday night rush hour to get down to Bloomington about 10 minutes early and were taken to a table with the chef. While the other bloggers arrived, we had our chance to get to know Chef Michael. At this point, it is still the usual “Where are you from?” (Orlando, but born in upstate NY), “Where have you cooked?” (17 years at Disney, and now 5 at Red Lobster), and “Do you have a family?” (Married, with 1 boy and 1 girl). By this time, everybody had arrived and we were ready to begin our dinner.

We started with one of the oldest items on the menu, the Lobster Pizza. Overall, this dish was pretty good. Pizza crust, lobster meat, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and, the most important to me, a squeeze of lemon juice. I say that the lemon was the most important because when I got a bite with the lemon juice, the pizza was very well balanced. However, when I took a bite that didn’t have the lemon juice, it was way too salty for me.

Our second dish was the first of the entrees, the Maui Luau Shrimp and Salmon, which, Jennifer and I agreed was probably one of the best dishes we had. We received one filet of salmon, and one skewer of shrimp, both brushed with a sweet and spicy sauce, and then cooked over the ever-important wood-fire grills, which are now standard at all Red Lobsters. This was served with grilled pineapple, broccoli, and the wild rice pilaf. I was perfectly happy with the amount of spice that was in the dish, at least when I used the Thai chili sauce that came with the dish.

Our next dish was the Mango-Jalapeno Shrimp Skewers. These were served with lightly battered onion rings, which I found myself returning to throughout the rest of the meal. There were only two issues that I had with this dish. 1 – I couldn’t get the shrimp off the skewers (possibly a user malfunction rather than a food malfunction) and 2 – I could barely taste the jalapeno, so to me, it was just a sweet mango shrimp dish. In all fairness, it was still tasty, but I was hoping for a bit more heat. Of course, from everything that I can tell, I like food a little spicier than the average American, which is who the cooks at Red Lobster are cooking for. When you are cooking for two million Americans per week, it is probably best to shoot for middle of the road.

Next came the one dish we tried for anybody who doesn’t care for seafood, the Maple-Glazed Chicken. This is one of the newer additions to the menu, which was developed based on Chef Michael’s love of maple syrup. Again, it was served over the wild rice pilaf. I was definitely able to taste the maple in the dish, but often I couldn’t taste very much cherry, even when I would have a bite with an entire cherry in it. The dish wasn’t bad, considering that people don’t go to Red Lobster for the land animals.

The final entrée was the Wood-Grilled Tilapia with Spicy Soy Broth, which was served with oven roasted fresh asparagus, tomatoes, and red onions. And, of course, some more rice pilaf. This was another pretty strong dish. The soy broth had just a hint of wasabi, which gave it a nice little zip. The vegetables were cooked just right, and the whole dish came together nicely. This dish cost $17.99 and was the most expensive dish that we had that night. For me, that is the upper limit of what I am willing to spend on dinner at a casual chain restaurant. However, it was not the most expensive thing on the menu.

We did have 3 desserts, which I will mention briefly, but not go into much detail about. They were the Chocolate Chip Lava Cookie, the New York Style Cheesecake with Strawberries, and finally the Chocolate Wave (a large slice of chocolate cake). All of them were good, but I did have a bit of an issue with the lava cookie and the chocolate wave. They were HUGE!We had some interesting conversations throughout the night, and the overall health of Americans came up now and again. One of the things that Chef LaDuke said was that “We can’t change how Americans eat. They will eat what they want to”. Which is fine. I, however, believe that he is trying to change how Americans eat. They have recently put in wood-fire grills to all locations. That sounds pretty healthy to me. Also, he mentioned that the menu was down to 18-27% fried now, which is down from previous years. Portions of the entrees were a good size, but not obscene, by any stretch of the imagination. But then to unload these huge desserts came as quite a surprise to me. On the positive side, it sounded like that might be changing in the near future, but we will just have to wait and see.

Overall, my experience at Red Lobster was not at all what I was expecting, and I will probably start to consider it as a possibility for a casual dinner. If you want to find out what Jennifer had to say about the dinner, check out her blog at: http://www.aselfconfessedfoodie.com

Wild about Wilde Roast

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:40:00 +0000

Saturday night. Hungry. Really don't want to cook.

Aha! The Bulldog. I think I'll get that turkey and avocado sand...Crap. No parking nearby.

I know. How about Brasa? Well, their parking lot is full also, but it only fits 8 or so cars on a good day, and there are no meters on the streets around it. There's one! I think I'll get the braised pork and...Whoa! There are more people standing in line waiting for a table than there are actually seated.

OK - new plan. Wander the street until I find someplace that will feed me. As I headed down Central towards University, I passed Wilde Roast coffee shop. Thinking nothing of it, I just kept going until I passed the window and looked in to see that people were actually using silverware. And drinking wine. I may have found a coffee shop that I could frequent. I think I'll give it a try.

The first thing I notice when I walk in is the heavy curtain protecting the patrons from the outside air. While I have seen that done before, I haven't seen it done in a coffee shop before. Then, there was the large portrait of Oscar Wilde, the inspiration for the shop, above the bar. That, coupled with the nice fireplace and comfy-looking chairs made me really want to like this place.

The dinner that I ate there fell quite short of amazing. Actually, it was only a little bit above mediocre. Initially, I ordered the Pot Roast, only to find out that it had been removed from the menu a long time ago, they just haven't updated it in a while. So, I moved on to the turkey meatloaf ($12). It was a very moist meatloaf, and every couple of bites exploded with flavor. Unfortunately, every couple of bites is just not good enough. The garlic mashed potatoes really didn't have any flavor, and couple that with the bland mushroom gravy and it was a recipe for disaster. The plate did come with vegetables, which were cooked correctly. The best move of the night on my part was to get a slice of carrot cake to go. The cake was moist, and the frosting was delicious. It was worth the $6 that it cost.

As I mentioned, I really wanted to like the place, so I felt that I had to give it one more shot. Just maybe not at dinner time. So, when Jennifer mentioned that she had a class assignment to spend a couple of hours in a coffee shop and observe the atmosphere, I knew just where to go.

I got the Breakfast Burro with sausage ($8.50). Basically, as you may have guessed, a breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese, and sausage. It was quite tasty. However, I was not a huge fan of the salsa that they tried to serve with it. All of the components tasted good, but they were way too heavy-handed on the garlic. Raw garlic first thing in the morning is not something that I am a huge fan of. Jennifer ordered the waffle with blueberries ($5.00) and a hot chocolate. Both of which were top of the line. The waffle came with real maple syrup, not something straight out of squeeze bottle.

The crowd in Wilde Roast is quite diverse. They do seem to be quite popular in the GLBT community, with what looked like many write-ups in Lavender magazine. There were artists, business people, students, and many other random people, many of them working away on their laptops or catching up with old friends. It is a great place to go and just hang out. It did get a little bit noisy during the lunch rush.

In the end, Wilde Roast is a great place to hang out or study, or even drink coffee. If I were to go back during the evening, I would probably stick to the sandwich or pizza. But I can definitely recommend the breakfasts.

Overall: 2.5 out of 5

Ambience: 4 out of 5 (Did I mention the fireplace? And dark wood paneling.)

Noise: 3 out of 5 (5 being the loudest)

Service: 2 out of 5 (Order at the counter, like any coffee shop. Food is delivered tableside. Drinks can be picked up at the bar)

Website: www.wilderoastcafe.com

Address: 518 Hennepin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN

Foie, Remade

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:37:00 +0000

Today I used the rest of the Foie Gras that Jennifer's parents sent back with us. I feel like I am on Top Chef in saying that the theory of it was good, but the execution was just lacking (however, I did kind of like the presentation piece as well). What I attempted was foie gras with polenta and a port wine reduction. I'll start with the high notes.

1. The port wine reduction was pretty good. I mean really, most of the time, when you take 1 cup of a tasty liquid, and then reduce it to 4 tablespoons, it is going to taste pretty good. So here is what I did. I took:

1 Cup Port

2 Tbls. Honey

Pinch of Thyme

2 Shallots

Following the pattern of Farallon's recipe, I minced the shallots, and then combined everything in a saucepan. I let this simmer for 20 minutes, and then strained out the solids and returned the liquids to the heat, reducing it to 1/4 - 1/8 of a cup.

2. Polenta is fun because it can take on any texture that you want. It can be runny and creamy if you want (in that case you do a 5-to-1 ratio of liquid to polenta), or, as in this case, it can be a bit more firm just a 3-to-1 ratio. I chose to do the firm polenta because I wanted a contrast in texture between the polenta and the foie gras. Foie gras has a texture that is smooth and buttery, and even though I seared it to give it a little crust, it still has a very velvety mouth-feel. Sorry...I digress.

1 Cup Polenta

3 Cups Water

.2 lbs Gruyere Cheese

1 1/2 Tbsp. Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

To make the polenta, bring the desired amount of water to a boil, and add a large pinch of salt. Add the polenta to the boiling water, stirring the entire time. Actually, you want to stir the polenta until it has finished cooking, in this case, about 5 minutes. At this point, you can get creative with the polenta. I added about .2 pounds of gruyere cheese, 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste. After cooking the polenta, I poured it into a baking dish and spread it to about 1-inch thick. Go ahead and put the dish in the oven to dry it out a little bit more (Jennifer had a stew in the oven, so I dropped the polenta in there with it). When it is dry enough for you (I left mine in for 10 minutes), I took it out and cut it into the desired shape.

3. Now, all you have to do is cook the foie gras as I mentioned in the last post, and you are all set.

Put a piece of the polenta down on the plate, top it with the foie gras, and drizzle with the port reduction. Bon Appetit

New Year, New Food

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:48:00 +0000

I spent this past weekend in Des Moines, celebrating the new year with Jennifer and her parents. And with the new year, came a new chance to cook with a new food. I had had foie gras many (OK, a few) times in the past, but even at the culinary academy, I never got the chance to cook with it.

A few days before we the New Year, Jennifer gave me a heads up that her parents ordered a lobe of foie gras and a rack of veal. Along with this news came a question. “You’ve made this before, right?” I quickly started going through all of my cookbooks and searching the internet for anything that might be good. What I settled on was from Farallon restaurant in San Francisco.

The recipe is for Seared Foie Gras with Apple Galettes, Watercress, and Calvados Syrup. The nice thing about this recipe is that almost all of the components can be made in advance. The order of our operations were as follows:

1. Create Apple Galettes – A galette is the name for any kind of freeform tart. These galettes were some of the easiest possible, as there was no crust needed. All that is needed is:

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

4 Large Apples, preferably Granny Smith – Cored, Peeled, and cut into thin slices

1 Tbl. Fresh Thyme (We had to substitute a pinch of dried thyme for each galette)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Brush four 4-inch tartlet molds with the olive oil. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles, like a tart, to about ¾ inch above the top edge of the molds (The galettes will shrink as they cook). Sprinkle the tops of the galettes with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Then drizzle with as much of the remaining olive oil as you want. Place them on a baking sheet, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a knife. If they are not browned on the top, put them under the broiler to finish the browning.

2. Make the Syrup –

¾ C. Calvados (Apple Brandy) or Cognac

¼ C. Sugar

2 Tbls. Fresh Orange Juice

2 Tbls. Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Shallots, minced

2 Tsps. minced, peeled, fresh ginger

½ Tsp. ground Allspice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Strain the sauce, and return it to medium heat. Reduce until there is about ¼ of a cup of syrup remaining. Keep the syrup warm until you are ready to use, or it can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

3. Prepare the foie gras – All you need for this is 1 lobe of grade A foie gras, salt and pepper.

The foie gras I was working with was mail-ordered from dartagnan.com. We received 1 full lobe that had already been cleaned of any veins. All that I had to do was to cut it into ¾” slices using a hot knife.

Heat a pan until it is hot, but not smoking hot (you don’t even need to add any oil, since it is all fat). Lay the slices in the pan, and let them cook for 1 ½ - 2 minutes per side. You will start to see the color working its way up the side of the foie. That is ok. Flip each piece, and let it go for another minute or two.

To assemble the dish, lay down one of the galettes, place a piece of foie gras on top of it. Drizzle the syrup around the plate, and garnish with the watercress.

Enjoy!

Andina Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:02:00 +0000

I was recently in Portland, Oregon, for a fencing tournament. The fencing went well, but the biggest thing that I remember was the food. The first night was a simple little bar and grill-type thing, but the second night was the one that really stood out for the weekend.

I had been wandering the city looking for a particular Cuban restaurant which, I was told, had an amazing pastry chef who did wonderful things with desserts. I thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, after about an hour, and 25 blocks, I decided that I wasn't going to find it, and turned around. I remembered passing a Peruvian restaurant, and made that my final destination, rather than the Cuban restaurant.

The name was Andina restaurant, and they were able to squeeze me in a spacious, and still only half-full, dining room. My order was taken, and the Sangria appeared in front of along with my bread. The Sangria turned out to be ok. I prefer mine to come with the actual fruit in the glass, instead of the ice cubes which really only served to dilute the drink.

The bread, however, was a different story. Many places will give you butter, olive oil, or something else to flavor your bread with. This one was no different. Except that they gave me three choices, instead of just one. The first was a mildly spicy peanut dip. My least favorite, but still not too bad. The waitress mentioned that it goes quite nicely with Thai-style spring rolls, which I definitely believe. The next one was a passion fruit and habanero sauce. This was sweet with quite a kick. Finally, there was the jalapeño and vinegar sauce. This one was the spiciest, and by far my favorite. The freshness of the jalapenos really showed through.

Once I had finished my two or so baskets of bread (what...I was hungry, and the sauces were awesome!), it was time for my appetizer. something called Causa Mixta Nikkei. Apparently, Causa is a traditional Peruvian dish that is made mashed potato dumplings mixed with oil, lemon, chilis, and onions. This one had something similar to that as a base, topped with spicy tuna and crab salad. All in a smallish cake form. Perched atop all of that, sat a crispy fried shrimp. Now, the idea was great, and at times, so was the dish. The problem came when you ran out of the crispy shrimp, the rest of the cake just felt like mush in your mouth. However, when you did get a bite with everything, the taste, texture, and even sound were all spot on.

As a main course, I tried the Adobo de Cerdo (Pork adobo). In and of itself, this was excellent. Even the green apples that were served with it added a nice acid to the (not overwhelming) heat. The problem in this dish is with the butternut squash and gorgonzola ravioli. This just seemed entirely out of place on the plate. I am not the world's biggest fan of gorgonzola, nor am I by any stretch of the imagination a hater of the cheese, but I believe in "everything in moderation". The problem was that the cheese overwhelmed everything else that was presented, and left an "off" flavor in your mouth. That being said, I would probably not order this dish again.

Finally, it was time for dessert. Amongst the alfajores (little cookies) and flan, was the Plato de Crema Quemada. Three ramekins of creme brule, each highlighting a major Peruvian export. The first was the spiced orange. Then came vanilla. Finally a caramel espresso (which, I will admit, made me a little nervous as I don't drink any coffee). However, they were all spectacular. The caramel hid even the slightest bit of coffee aftertaste, making it taste the way that I wish all coffee-flavored desserts (or just plain all coffee) would taste.

I am looking forward to returning to Portland next year, and hopefully back to the Andina Restaurant where, while I would probably not get the same appetizer or entree, I would be happy to continue to explore the menu.

The Chef as an Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:02:00 +0000

What is art? What is beauty? What is yummy? The answers to all of these questions lies with each and every individual. I couldn't possibly even try to convince some people that I know that a food such as asparagus could be tasty. But, to me it can be. If it is done right.

This leads into a bigger question. Are chefs artists? I would argue that yes, they are. Now, I will grant you, there are some major differences. Chief among them is the fact that many artists are not popular until after they have died. I can't say that I would use that as an argument for a chef being an artist, as there are probably not too many things that would be good once the chef has died.

Chefs are given certain tools, many of which are available to the general public, and turn them into something fantastic. If anybody has watched the show "Top Chef", they will know that, for most of the menus, the chefs do their shopping at a Whole Foods-esque grocery store. To me, an artist is one who can harmoniously blend many different things (colors, notes, words) into one cohesive entity.

I could go on and on about this topic, but what I really want to discuss is the book "Culinary Artistry" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. They talk to some of the country's greatest chefs and ask the question - Why does the chef deserve to be considered an artist?

When they are not discussing what makes a chef an artist, they are providing hints to the reader as to how to become an artist yourself. This is done with many ingredient charts and tables with relevant data about the season that the ingredient is at its most prevalent, other ingredients that pair nicely with it, and even which cooking methods are the best for this ingredient.

Now, they are not even trying to come close to implying that they have presented an exhaustive list. There may be combinations that haven't been thought of. There are ingredients that they have not included (even though they do list many things - from kohlrabi to quince). However, this is a list of combinations that have been tested by chefs such as Rick Bayless and Alice Waters. It is something of the CliffsNotes for cooking.

While there are some recipes in the book, the bulk of the development is up to the reader. The authors don't want to tell you exactly what to make. Instead, they want to guide you down a path of, "Well, these two ingredients go nicely together, so work with them and see what else just happens to fall into the pan."

The road of an artist is seldom an easy one. It is nice to know, though, that with this book, you are getting the knowledge of the top chefs from around the country, and all those who came before them, as a map to help you on your journey.

Hot Chocolate in Tallinn

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you about the best hot chocolate that I have ever had. Jennifer and I were in Tallinn, Estonia, not too long ago, and, in an attempt to avoid the snow that was starting to fall, we wandered in to the "Cafe Chocolaterie". It was a quaint little place in old town that reminded me of what I always pictured Professor Trelawney's classroom to look like. The felt tablecloths, tassels, many candles, in a quiet and secluded area, it just felt mysterious. All that was needed were the crystal balls.

Now, I had been here once before, but I am not sure if they have changed their recipe, or it was just the company that made this a perfect glass of hot chocolate. As you can see from the picture, they first swirl melted chocolate along the inside of the glass, before adding their chocolate-y, creamy goodness. To top it all off, they give you a cinnamon stick to use as a swizzle stick. The best thing to do was to scrape some of the chocolate off the side and suck on the cinnamon stick, giving you a taste of all three components: melted chocolate, the hot chocolate liquid, and the cinnamon.

Now, they also had an assortment of truffles and cakes, one of which I tried. This was the richest, most powerful chocolate cake that I had ever tasted. It was a multi-level cake, held together with a chocolate frosting, and coated with a very shiny chocolate couverture. Halfway through I was ready to swear off chocolate for a week. Of course, right after I was done with that, I finished the cake.

Banking on Bank

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:14:00 +0000

The history of a restaurant is as individual as the history of a person. No two are alike. Some are created specifically as a restaurant, while others have previous incarnations as gas stations or train stations.

I recently had the opportunity to try Bank restaurant in the Westin Minneapolis at 88 South 6th St. The story behind this restaurant is quite interesting in that it began its life as the Farmers and Mechanics Bank in the early 1900's, and Bank restaurant keeps this history alive in its dining room.

In order to enter the restaurant from the skyway, which is what I would recommend given this year's winter, you must travel through the dining room to get to the host's stand. On your way, you see multiple board rooms turned private dining rooms, as well as intricate wood carvings that are not normally seen in the food industry. There are also many booths with low couches and tables, in theory perfect for sipping on a happy hour drink, yet in practice a bit too deep, keeping the imbiber a bit too far from their much deserved refreshment.

As for the teller stations, they were turned into a dining bar that looks straight into the kitchens. Well, one kitchen, but three distinct sections of it. One of them being the hot food section (which was the busiest), while the second one did not seem to be used during the time that I was there. The final one, of course, was all about the desserts.

As for the vault, well, it still houses some of Bank's most prized possessions. It has been transformed into the restaurant's wine cellar, and diners can peek through the open doors and glass window to see everything from Veuve Cliquot (Yellow label) to Dom Perignon.

Enough about the surroundings, now onto the food.

The rather small menu (about 7 appetizers, 3 salads, 6 entrees, and 4 desserts) was presented, and I selected the good old American burger. Of course, this burger was made from American Kobe beef, wood-smoked bacon, and aged cheddar cheese.

The restaurant has obviously not lost the love of money that comes from having a previous life as a bank, since most of the entrees were priced between $10 and $15. From what I could tell, though, they are worth every penny of it. The $7 desserts, on the other hand, I'm still not too sure about.

This was, bar none, the best burger that I have ever tasted. It was moist to the point of being juicy, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly cooked. I have never tasted a better burger in my life, and I have eaten quite a few. The fries that accompanied it were tasty, but they didn't stand out in quite the same way the burger did.

Jennifer, who you will probably hear me talk quite a bit about as time goes by, ordered the mushroom risotto with creme fraiche and shaved Parmesan cheese. This was quite a rich dish, given all of the dairy products that were included in it, but it still broke into the top three in terms of mushroom risottos for her. Number one, of course, being served at Campiello in uptown Minneapolis.

Another favorite for the table was the roasted tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. This soup was entirely vegetarian, and when I took a spoonful of it, I felt like I was biting into a vine-ripened tomato. The flavors were spot on. And, of course, there was the fact that it came with a grilled fontina sandwich. Who doesn't love grilled cheese? Particularly when it comes in the form of a two row high log cabin. That's right, they cut it into quarters the short way, and then stacked them nicely on the plate, two of the quarters on top of and perpendicular to the other two.

All of the dishes that were presented to us were visual masterpieces, and so far, they had all been home runs. Unfortunately, that would change with dessert.

We ordered the Frangelico chocolate pudding cake with a hazelnut florentine. Yeah. Try saying that three times fast. Anyways, it took about 15 minutes for them to assemble, and when it came out, it looked astonishing. It was a small (ramekin sized) cake, topped with a hazelnut florentine, which apparently is very similar to a tuile. Aside the florentine was a scoop of malt ice cream. And then there were the smears of chocolate all around the plate.

The only way that this dessert was palatable was with a large bite of ice cream with a small bite of the cake. The sweetness of the ice cream was needed to balance out the bitterness of the cake. The only problem was that there was only a small scoop of ice cream, and a comparatively large piece of cake.

In the end, Bank offers a high return on investment that is so hard to find in today's economy. I cannot wait to return.

Dinner in Richmond

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 03:08:00 +0000

I mentioned earlier that I would return to the travel part of things later. Well, later has become now. I suppose I should start with the fact that I am based out of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I am a nationally ranked fencer, which means that I often have to travel to competitions around the country, as well as around the world (although, I usually stick to Europe).

Well, this past weekend I was in Richmond, VA for the first of three qualifying events for the Olympics in Beijing. The first night in Richmond, we ate at the Penny Lane Pub, http://www.pennylanepub.com/. We waited for about fifteen or so minutes in the crowded and smoky bar while a table was cleared and made ready for us. This was definitely an English style pub trying to make it in the US. Many of the TVs were tuned to soccer games for those wishing to feel like they are in London. If, however, you are too tired to make the trip across the pond, you merely need to turn to a different TV and you will see whatever basketball games happen to be going on at the time.

We were seated and eventually got to order (2 orders of the Dijon Baked Chicken, and one of the Fish 'n' Chips). I can only speak to the Dijon Baked Chicken, which was actually quite good, yet a bit small when compared with the size of the fish in the fish 'n' chips. The sauce was a lemon and dijon sauce which meshed quite nicely with the vegetables, a mix of Yellow Squash and Zucchini. They looked as though they had seen better days, but still tasted pretty good when eaten with the sauce. And then, on the side, there was a scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy, which tasted like mashed potatoes and gravy should.

Many people never get past the bar at Penny Lane Pub, with its numerous draught and bottled beers (of which, I am not even going to begin to describe at this time).

Penny Lane Pub is a good place to go if you happen to be in Richmond, VA, and looking for a faux British pub with decent food. That being said, I probably wouldn't go into the city specifically to eat there.

Penne and Italian Sausage in a Vodka Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:40:00 +0000

I have been working on developing recipes that could possibly be put into a book someday, assuming that I can come up with more than just this one. I have been toying with a penne and sausage recipe ever since I ate at D'amico and Sons, and I think that I have come up with something. I will begin by putting the ingredients out there with some preparation steps and see if that generates any interest. If so, I will add amounts and such to flesh out the recipe. But, in a nutshell, here it is:

Italian Sausage - I like it spicy, but it also works with mild as well
Penne Rigate - Smallish tubes of pasta
Onion
Tomato Paste
Diced Tomatoes
Heavy Whipping Cream
Vodka
Chili Flakes
Oregano
Salt
Parmesan Cheese

Start by boiling a large pot of salted water (It should taste like the sea, or at least that's what they always said in school).

Saute the sausage in a non-stick pan with a little bit of olive oil (Trust me on the non-stick part). Remove the sausage and saute the onions until cooked to the desired tenderness, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Add the tomato paste and mix it with the onions, cooking for about a minute.

Your water should be boiling now, so go ahead and start cooking your penne.

Return the sausage to the pan and add the tomatoes. Cook for another minute or so. Add some cream, vodka, chili flakes, oregano, and salt, letting it simmer for about five minutes. Once the penne is cooked, drain it and toss it with the sauce and cheese. You are now ready for dinner. Bon Appetit!

If you are interested in getting more info about this, please let me know. To me, it is a quick and easy dinner idea, which comes up every couple months or so.

Who is the man behind the mystery

noreply@blogger.com (Iron Chef Scott) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:30:00 +0000

I figured that I should begin with a little bit of an introduction as to who I am and why I feel like I have any right to be a part of a blog that, hopefully, will have much to do with food, wine, and travel. Any number of things are bound to come up in addition to these topics, but as these are some of my favorites, I will start with them.

So. Why do I want to be a food writer? Well, I went to the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Does this mean that my taste in food is any better than yours? Probably not. Does this mean that I have any better idea of good food than you do? Probably not. All that this means is that I did put in some time behind the scenes learning about techniques used to prepare food. It also means that I spend too much time looking for that ever elusive perfect burrito that I could always get in the Mission district (if anyone has suggestions for something that might compare to that, please let me know).

In terms of wine, I am still quite the neophyte. I did my internship at the San Francisco Chronicle, in their wine section. Every 2 weeks we were tasting up to 80 different wines. While there, I did learn an appreciation for good wine. I do believe that any varietal has the potential to be great, therefore I don't just make blanket statements such as "I hate Chardonnays". I have actually had quite a few decent ones, including the ones at Buena Vista vineyards, where I spent a week working with them to get some insight into the wine making process. That being said, if I am going to drink a red wine, Shiraz is my favorite, and if you are pouring whites, give me Gruner Veltliner.

I will get to travel in more detail later, but I have visited most Western European countries (the big ones, anyways), as well as a few Central and South American countries as well.

Stay tuned for more to come.